Asian Burger with Hoisin Ketchup (Recipe 164 of 125)

Oh Lordy. I think it's ironic that just today I tried to pick my top 10 favorites for this year. I had 10. Now I need to make room for one more. 

I was a little concerned with the number of ingredients for this recipe. The burger ingredients alone were daunting. I had all those ingredients in my fridge/pantry so that wasn't the issue. I usually think this many ingredients become too muddled and you can't really taste them. In this case, they all blended so well together you didn't really want to taste them individually. 

The slaw...oh man. I made it early and let the vinegar do it's think and soften the cabbage. I had some left over chili garlic mayo so I tossed the slaw with that and WOW, that made the slaw amazing. I'd eat the slaw just by itself. 

But the winner, the winner was the Hoisin Ketchup. I fear I may be making just that more often than I should. It really pulled the whole burger together. 

I made this an open face burger cuz I just knew it'd be too messy otherwise, and I'm glad I did. Less bread (always a good thing) and that meat the burger was the star along side the slaw and ketchup.

You won't regret making this! I promise you, it's 100% worth the ingredient list. 

Asian Burger with Hoisin Ketchup

Recipe from Carlsbadcravings.com

• 4 hamburger buns (You need a hearty bun. I used ciabatta and it was perfect)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

ASIAN HAMBURGERS

• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 c panko bread crumbs
• 1/2 c chopped red onion
• 1-3 tsp Asian chili garlic sauce (like Sambal Oelek)*
• 1 T reduced sodium soy sauce
• 1 T quality hoisin (Lee Kum Kee or Kikkoman)
• 1 T lime juice
• 1/2 T brown sugar
• 1 tsp EACH salt, dried basil, garlic pwdr
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp pepper

CHILI GARLIC MAYONNAISE

• 1/2 c mayonnaise
• 1 tsp Asian chili garlic sauce (optional) DO NOT make this optional. This really adds to it.

HOISIN KETCHUP

• 1/4 c ketchup
• 1 T hoisin sauce
• 1 T reduced sodium soy sauce
• 1/2 T lime juice

ASIAN SLAW

• 4 c angel hair coleslaw (may sub regular)**
• 1 c Matchstick carrots
• 2 tsp rice vinegar
• 1 tsp reduced soy sauce
• 1 tsp lime juice
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp sesame oil

Photo from
Carlsbad Cravings

Add egg to a large bowl and gently whisk. Add all remaining Hamburger Ingredients and mix with your hands just until combined. Form mixture into 4 equal patties roughly the size of your hamburger buns then make a deep impression in the middle of each patty with your thumb (this will help the burgers cook evenly). Refrigerate for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, whisk together all of the Hoisin Ketchup ingredients in a small bowl. Refrigerate.

Whisk together Chili Garlic Mayonnaise ingredients in a small bowl. Refrigerate.

Add coleslaw and carrots to a large bowl and toss with remaining Asian Slaw ingredients. Refrigerate.

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, add patties and cook until brown and slightly charred on one side, about 3-4 minutes, flip, reduce heat to medium and cover. Cook an addition 3-5 minutes or to desired doneness. [JW Note: I did not fry mine. I grilled them instead.]

Spread hamburger buns with Chili Garlic Mayonnaise, top with Asian hamburgers, top with Hoisin Ketchup followed by Asian Slaw and dig in!